Märchan Hong
by MaoMao565
Summary: Hong Kong is disheartened and confused after he was taken away from China and forced to live in England's house. While watching England perform magic, he accidentally gets cursed instead of a certain Frenchman. However, maybe the curse isn't that bad ... it could lead to love, after all. Based off one of my favorite manga!
1. It's the panda's fault

"Now where did I put that chamom- OOF!" The young man who was previously shuffling through drawers and cupboards slid to the ground, clutching his head in agony. A young boy dressed in Victorian style clothing sat off to the side of the darkened room, watching his caretaker with emotionless eyes.

"Bloody hell, that hurt!" The man muttered, his thick eyebrows furrowed in pain. He was handsome when he wasn't grimacing in pain, with mussled sandy blonde hair and clear emerald eyes. He shook his head and proceeded to continue his search.

After a few minutes, a cry of victory echoed around the basement.

"Ah-hah! I found it!" He raised his hands in triumph, clutching a jar that contained something green and leafy. The mysterious ingredient was promptly dumped into a dusty cauldron, which proclaimed along the side, "Property of Arthur Kirkland."The boy in the corner tightly clutched a panda that he held in his lap, not betraying the worry he felt inside.

"I'll show that frog," England, also known as Arthur Kirkland, muttered bitterly. "Teach him what happens when he insults my cooking..." He waved his hand over the pot and murmured something incoherant, causing a cloud of blue dust to erupt from the mixture. Arthur coughed in surprise and wiped his eyes, saying, "Well _that's _not right..." The 'stew' continued to bubble as the young man consulted a leathery spell book that was opened and dog-eared.

". . . " The boy's silence spoke for him, soundlessly doubting England's whole plan. The blonde huffed and waved away the boy's doubt.

After a few minutes of tense silence, England finally sighed and said, "Bullocks. I honestly don't know what I did..." He tried to ignore the boy's gaze, which was of the "I-told-you-so" family. He readjusted his clothes (which matched the little boy's) and said, "Oh well. No matter. Come on, Leon, it's almost time for lunch."For a moment England waited, but, realizing the boy wasn't moving, sighed again and walked up the stairs and out of the basement.

Silence entered the dark room as the boy continued to sit.

. . . _That isn't my name, _he thought finally. _My name is Kaoru. _His panda bleated and crawled out of his lap. _I don't care if I'm not with China-baba anymore, I'm not going to respond to that . . . name . . . _Hong Kong, also called Kaoru, trailed off as he watched his panda march over to the cauldron, inspecting the mixture with its cute panda eyes.

"Hey ... like, wait ... " Hong Kong stood up quickly. His bear was inspecting the pot and started pawing at it curiously, causing the cauldron to sway from side to side. The small boy gasped in surprise and horror as the thing tipped drastically in the direction of his precious pet. Without thinking, he dove for the creature and managed to toss it out of the way just as the pot came crashing down upon him.

"... Just ... great ... " Hong Kong said, finding himself trapped and soaked with whatever Arthur was concocting. _It ... tastes just as bad as his cooking ... _He thought, grimacing. _Like, eww._

Even though the cauldron was easily three times his size, the boy was able to knock it sideways, freeing himself. He stared at his panda, which had begun to groom itself, sighed, then inspected his ruined attire. It was good clothing, he surmised, and the eyebrow man would definitely be angry if he found out what had happened. After pondering for a short while, Hong Kong decided to do what kids his age did best: lie through his teeth. After changing and taking a bath, of course.

~HKHK~

England looked up from the newspaper he was reading and regarded the child in the doorway.

"Huh ... I could have sworn you were wearing the blue vest ..." The blonde mused. "Well, no matter. Come sit and eat." Hong Kong nodded and, clutching his panda, made his way to the mahogany chair. He eased it backward and plopped himself down, staring at the torture his caretaker claimed was food.

". . ." Hong Kong stared at the black mess that was meant to be tuna sandwiches. _How do you burn something that doesn't even require cooking ... ? _The young Asian asked inwardly.

He stared at it, willing it to go away, then sighed in defeat and picked it up. England, of course, was oblivious to all this and proceeded to make small talk with his new charge.

"I hope you like tuna, Leon," he started. "It was on a jolly good sale and, well, tuna seems very healthy and exotic. Have you had tuna before?" He stared at the expressionless boy expectantly, green eyes piercing like gems.

". . . " Hong Kong was caught unawares as he froze in the act of handing pieces of his sandwich to his panda, which were promptly rejected.

" ... Wǒ bù xǐhuan 'tuna' ... " Of course, Hong Kong knew enough English to understand England and reply, but there was no way he would willingly converse in that dirty language without a fight.

England scrunched up his face and said, "Leon, I know you can speak English. Stop being a twat." The boy stared at him for a full minute, the air crackling with tenseness.

Finally Hong Kong looked away and said quietly, "I don't, like, care for it." The older nation smiled and patted the boy's head.

"Yes, there's a good chap. You have a wonderful voice, why not use it more often?" Hong Kong blinked. _He's just using sweet words to get my guard, like, down..._

" ... Excuse me ... " Hong Kong murmured softly, then hopped off his chair, panda in tow. England snuck glances at the retreating child, then folded up his paper and placed it next to his plate. His eyebrows scrunched in perplexity.

"Curse it all ... I can never tell what the boy is thinking! Tch, leave it to China to raise a child like that ... " The large browed man continued to think out loud as he picked up the dished, unaware that Hong Kong was standing outside the doorway, just out of view.

" . . . " The Asian boy stared at the floor, arguments flying around his mind like fireflies. _China-baba was perfect ... I don't know why I have to live with you anyway ... You call me by the wrong name and your cooking is terrible! _Even though he would never admit it, at that moment a tear the size of a dew drop slid down his cheek. He wiped it away quickly and strode to his room, willing his aching heart to disappear.

**A/N**: Woohoo! Second Fic! Ahaha, it's so exciting~~ (^.^)

Sooo ... this will be a HongIce fic, if you couldn't tell from the selected countries~ I'm a little worried, I've never done that much with Iceland ... I hope I get his personality right. (^.^;)

And finally, if you don't recognize it from the title, I'm basing this fic off of a certain manga that I absolutely adore. Can you guess what it is? ;)

Critiques make my day! And flames will be ignored like a boss.


	2. Oranges and Memories

_Mmm ... At least Eyebrows keeps his cupboard well-stocked ... _Hong Kong thought as he rummaged around the kitchen, looking for something edible. It was half an hour after "dinner," also known as "distract England before he notices no food is being eaten." Considering the "no food being eaten" part, Hong Kong was rightly starving, and he decided he would have to take it into his own hands. That is how the young boy found himself inspecting his caretaker's pantry, choosing which food was edible and which ... was slightly less so.

Finally he decided on something that looked like a citrus-fruit and retrieved a knife to eat it with. The food's peel felt slightly leathery in his hands as he cut it off, revealing an orange interior. Tentatively, he cut off a piece of the food and popped it into his mouth. Brown eyes widened as a burst of sweet flavor erupted on his tongue, and the child hurriedly cut out another piece. Soon enough, his hands were soaked with the fruit's sweet, sticky juice, and Hong Kong exhaled in happy content.

Suddenly tell-tale clacking announced the presence of footsteps in the kitchen. Before Hong Kong could chuck the remains of his meal into the garbage can, England strode into view, acting not at all surprised to see the boy in the kitchen. He paused for a moment, then pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Evening snack, eh?" he asked the inwardly nervous boy. All Hong Kong could do was nod in agreement. "Well, you are a growing lad ... I shouldn't be surprised." The boy's positioned softened as he realized he wasn't it trouble, and stared at the Englishman. "Do you know what you just ate, Leon?"

"... N ... No ..." Hong Kong ventured. England smiled.

"It was an orange, love. Like a grapefruit, but much sweeter."

"... Orange ... " the boy said, making the connection between the color and the fruit. Hong Kong paused before continuing. "... It's, like, good ... "

England laughed. "I enjoy it as well ... But come along. It is your bedtime, lad. Er ... well, wash your hands and face first."

~HKHK~

The room Hong Kong was lead to was big and evenly furnished, with two chairs and a large Victorian style bed. It looked comfortable, but not lived in. It reminded Hong Kong of the hotels he and Arthur stayed in on the journey back from China-baba's house: clean, but intimidating.

England had dropped Hong Kong off at the room with a change of clothes that would act a pajamas and a single sentence: If you need anything, my room is at the end of the hallway, to the left. He had said this, then promptly walked off. Hong Kong watched the man leave, then shut the door to his room and sighed.

_This whole house is, like, unnerving ... It's nothing like China-baba's house ..._ Hong Kong slapped himself lightly as memories from his other house crept into his mind. He turned around, then noticed that the painting on the other side of the room. It was a beautifully crafted composition that depicted the landscape of the forest at night, with extra emphasis on the moon. _The moon ... _He could feel the doughy taste of dumplings on his tongue, could see his sibling's dark brown hair glistening in the moonlight as she laughed at their teacher... _"Don't laugh -aru! You see, the rabbit is on the moon crushing medic- Kaoru, are you listening to me -aru?" _Gold eyes and a warm smile and the feel of the cold wood of the porch and the cold, crisp autumn ai-

SLAP! . . . _I said _NO. The second slap stung quite a bit more than the first. Hong Kong rubbed his numb face and changed hurriedly into pajamas.

The thick blue covers on the bed were heavy and slightly cold to the touch as Hong Kong pulled them back and crawled into bed. Just like the past few nights, he was intimidated by the Western-style bed, missing the sturdiness of the floor and the rough feel of the tatami mat that Japan-gege let him borrow. Instead of using the pillow to cushion his head, he grabbed it and held onto it like he would hold his panda. With his memories still fresh in his mind, he tried to get some sleep.

~HKHK~

_"Hey, China-baba ... will you play with me?" A beaming Hong Kong was trailing after a taller man with delicate features and his creamy hair tied back in a ponytail. The man laughed._

_ "Aiyah, Kaoru! I played with you all this morning -aru!"_

_ Hong Kong sulked and said, "But Baba ... I'm bored ... " China patted the little boy's head and pointed to somewhere behind him._

_ "You can go play with those other kids, Kaoru. I'm sorry, but I have work to do -aru."_

_ Without waiting for Hong Kong's reply, China turned around and disappeared. _

_ Hong Kong stared at the place his baba had been and said, "... Fine, baba. I'll go, like, play with them." He turned around and sprinted to the place China had pointed at. A few kids were playing with bamboo sticks and, even though Hong Kong didn't recognize them, he walked right up to them._

_ "Ni hao! I'm, like, Hong Kong. Can I, like, play with you?" The kids stopped playing and examined him, eyes empty but piercing. Finally one kid stepped out of the group and spoke._

_ "... Aren't you too old to be playing games like this?" _

_ "What ... ?" Hong Kong stared at the other boy. "But I always, like, play games like this with China-baba." The other kids looked stunned, then started laughing. Hong Kong looked down at his shoes ashamedly though he didn't know what he was ashamed of. Their laughs echoed and echoed like a pack of tittering hyenas._

_ Just as Hong Kong felt the pinpricks of tears start to form in his eyes, he felt someone grab his hand. _

_ "I'll play with you." The Asian looked up in surprise and stared at the other boy's face. It was blurry and Hong Kong couldn't make out any of his facial features, except that his hair was a beautiful shade of ivory white._

_ "... Why are you looking at me like that? Come on, let's play." The other boy said. Hong Kong stared at him for a moment longer, then replied, face slightly red, "Y-yeah. Let's."_

_ He strode after the older boy, trying to keep up with his long steps as he was pulled along. Neither of them were talking, but it wasn't an awkward silence. Finally something occurred to Hong Kong. _

_ "Oh ... hey, what's your, like, name?" The white haired boy stopped walked and turned around. He opened his mouth and said. "Um, my name's-"_

RIIIIIP!

_Hong Kong and the white haired boy jumped at the same time. _

_ "What was that?" The other boy said cautiously, looking around. _

_ "Umm..." Hong Kong replied intelligently. _

_ "... I think ... you have to go now ..." White haired boy said cautiously. Hong Kong was shocked. _

_ "W-why? I finally found someone to play wi-" He trailed off as a looming shadow fell over the two children. _

_ "That's why," the other boy whispered quietly. _

_ "Hong Kong," a deep voice said, cutting through the air. "Come with me ..." A huge hand grabbed Hong Kong's small one and started pulling him away from the older boy. _

_ "W-wait! No! I finally ... finally found someone!" _

_ The white-haired boy watched in sadness as Hong Kong was dragged away. Just as the stranger was about to disappear from sight, he called out._

_ "I ... I'll see you again! Count on it!"_

_ Those last words rang in Hong Kong's head as everything faded to black._

**A/N**: Chapter two, finished! It feels like I've made no progress whatsoever.. -w-;

Anyway, it's late so I will make this brief! I love critiques/comments/suggestions to death, and I would really appreciate it if you left one! Also, don't flame, or Hong Kong will come after you in a dark alley with /a lot/ of fireworks. ^.^


	3. What Can Go Wrong, Will

"L-leon! Leon, wake up!" Hong Kong slowly blinked open his eyes as a slightly strangled voice rang throughout his rom. He shifted and sat up blearily, rubbing at his eyes, and stared emotionlessly at the figure in his doorway. If he was anyone else, he would have burst out laughing at the look on England's face. The older nation's humongous brows were drawn together in a furrow of concentration, his lips were being tightly pursed and he looked slightly pale.

_He looks like he ate a whole bitter melon, plain, _Hong Kong laughed inwardly. He started to pull off if covers, but immediately halted when he noticed that he wasn't wearing his pajamas from last night. That is... he was indeed wearing them, but they were only torn scraps of fabric. Then, like a domino chain reaction, other discrepancies made themselves abundantly clear.

Hong Kong's arms and hands felt larger and more muscular and as he looked down he saw his chest was much broader and developed. The bed that seemed so large before now fit comfortably; the ceiling, not so high. Indeed, it seemed like his whole perception of the room had changed. Everything seemed smaller and lower, like someone had gone over the whole room with a shrink ray.

"What..." Brown eyes widened as Hong Kong heard a deep voice come from his throat. "What, like, happened?!" The boy's normally calm demeanor was streak with shock and horror.

A moment passed by with a heartbeat as the Asian's question hung in the air. Finally, England made a movement and walked to Hong Kong's bed, standing next to the bewildered nation.

"Leon... did you touch my potion yesterday?" Green eyes peered curiously into brown as England asked the question. Hong Kong didn't reply, but instead grabbed a blanket, wrapped it around his body for make-shift clothing and darted to the bathroom. He scanned the room for a mirror, then ran to stand in front of one. When he saw his reflection, he inhaled sharply.

" ... No, like, way... " The face in the mirror mouthed the words of an alien voice that came from his mouth. The Asian face the reflected his shock from the mirror was definitely not his own. It was leaner and more angular, with sharp angles replacing the soft curves that originally made up his cheeks and jaw. The only thing that seemed familiar was the dark brown locks that stood in their usual side part, framing his face.

Hong Kong's eyes were roaming around the face in the mirror, trying to see the truth, when the suddenly they stopped on the area below his forehead and above his eyes.

" You have, like, _got _to be kidding me..." The face in the mirror- his face- returned the words of disbelief. His eyebrows had turned into black caterpillars overnight, just as big and obnoxious as England's.

In the mirror he saw the door open and the English country step into the room. After a pause, England awkwardly walked over and patted Hong Kong's back. In response, the other boy buried his face in his hands.

The blonde cleared his throat. "Erm, I suppose I need to find you some new clothes... " Hong Kong looked up and give him the best are-you-kidding-me stare he could muster. England blanched slightly and said, "Hey, it's not like I force-fed you that potion! All I wanted was to curse that bloody frog to be old. I never thought it would affect you like this, make you age into a teenager... Don't worry, Leon. I will search for a cure to this predicament. But... you really do need new clothes."

~HKHK~

Breakfast that morning was delayed and awkward. England was distracted by finding Hong Kong some proper clothes (which he luckily succeeded in doing) and Hong Kong spent the early morning in front of the mirror, learning the motor controls of his new, teenage body. By around ten-thirty, England fetched a reluctant Hong Kong and they ate their breakfast in silence.

Hong Kong excused himself and made his way back to his room, locking the door as he shut it. He leaned against the door for a moment, wondering what on earth he should do now, then decided to do some exercises he learned from China to take his mind off the current state of things.

Meanwhile, in the basement, England was seated at a table, leafing through the spell book he used the day before.

_Bloody hell, _he thought irritably. _Just one day in my house and that boy has already gotten into trouble! Well, it is partly my fault . . . But really, he should know better than to be playing around in suspicious-looking are- Ah, there it is!_ He brought the book closer to his face as he strained to read the small cursive text.

"Growth spell . . . Ingredients . . . of the curse family . . . Alright, where's the useful information?" Eyebrows scrunched up as in annoyance as he continued to scan the page, a little more urgently. Then he inhaled in shock.

"Effects will be observed . . . indefinitely . . ."

" . . ." England glanced up sharply as he heard a small cough and saw Hong Kong standing in the doorway. England couldn't read anything in the young man's face, but there was no doubt in his mind that he had been eavesdropping. He had heard everything.

The brunette cleared his throat again and lifted his hand. England saw quickly that the Asian country was holding a piece of paper.

"Something, like, came." He waggled the parchment slightly then passed it to England, who took it silently. Examining it quickly, the Brit felt a knot of dread form in his stomach. As he ripped off the seal, the fears in his mind took root in reality.

Hong Kong was halfway up the stairs, only wanting to continue his interrupted tai chi, when England spoke.

"I . . . have some bad news, lad. A mandatory world meeting has been called, and . . . it's tomorrow."

Hong Kong froze.

" . . . " The brunette didn't move. He didn't speak, blink, or make any noise at all; he just stood, absolutely still. For three minutes of straight torture he held that pose, with England waiting, slightly anxious. Then, he slowly turned and walked up the stairs.

". . . I'll be in my room or something. Don't, like, talk to me," the Asian called. England twitched, then shouted back angrily, "I know you're upset, but that does _not _give you an excuse to act . . . like . . . a brat . . ." His words trailed off when he realized that the teen had already left the room. England glared at the door at the top of the stairs and muttered, "When this is sorted out, you are in _so _much trouble, young man . . ."


	4. A Bored Pyromaniac is a Bad Thing

"This tie is, like, totally choking me..." Hong Kong grumbled as England fussed with his clothes.

"Belt up and get used to it, lad," the British man said quickly, giving a final tug on the tie in question. "You are going to have to dress to the nines now that you are my colony. I won't stand to have some slob... represent me..." The blonde trailed off and Hong Kong noticed his eyes cloud over, like the other man was seeing a far-away memory.

The asian sighed.

"Like, whatever. Let's just, like, go already." The weird look in England's green eyes faded slowly and he nodded. Without waiting for the British man's lead, Hong Kong walked outside and got in the passenger seat, followed by an indignant England.

Hong Kong sank into the leather of the seat, ignoring the older man's ranting.

"At least you aren't trying to drive, I suppose..." England muttered hotly.

Hong Kong gave him a look and said, "I could, like, totally try...~"

"Don't even start." With that, England jerked the key and started the car.

The drive itself was pretty quiet. The Englishman concentrated on driving and the Asian just silently stared out the window, neither one opting for starting a conversation. The smeared green forest and the scattered lakes rushing past seemed much more interesting to the teenager than the stiff old Brit's conversation skills anyway.

After what seemed like a dynasty's worth of time, they finally pulled into the crowded parking lot of their destination. Hong Kong got out of the red car and had barely shut the door with a _click _when he heard a shout.

"AI-YAH! HONG KONG!" The young Asian froze, then turned around slowly, only to see his very own China-baba standing right before him. The handsome (edit: see pretty) Chinese man's brown eyes were open wide and his mouth was openly hanging. The shock and what Hong Kong believed was horror on China's face made the teen's heart contract a little, but it wasn't noticeable on his face.

"What on earth happened, -aru!?" Hong Kong couldn't even get a word in before the other man turned him around and started thoroughly checking him for injuries. China's deft hands patting him down left the brown-eyed teen with a feeling he couldn't describe. _Loneliness?_

"Hey! Get your hands off him! He's FINE!" A sharp, unmistakable British voice yelled from the other side of the car. The peeved blonde quickly strode toward Hong Kong and China. China halted, but then turned to yell at the Englishman.

"What did you do, -aru? It's only been five days, and you _still _managed to screw it up, -aru!" He yelled forcefully, gold eyes gleaming.

England recoiled, then shouted back just as powerfully, "You stay out of this! I know what I did, so keep your nose out of our business!"

The two nations snarled at each other, maintaining their fiery glared. It was a stalemate, and they both knew it.

There was a pause. Then...

"Whoa. I'm, like, taller than you, baba." England facepalmed and China's face exploded in shock and distress.

"Your beautiful voice -aru! It's gone! What happened to your beautiful, gorge- YOUR EYEBROWS!" China began to rant and fume all over the place, yelling even louder when England grabbed Hong Kong by the arm and dragged him away to the meeting room. Hong Kong thought he could hear China say something about getting England in his sleep, but there was no way he would tell the older nation. Never ever, not in a billion years.

"Phew... he didn't follow us..." England said once they were inside and far enough from China for England's liking. "That bugger wasn't even supposed to talk to you... leave it to him to break the rules." Hong Kong was standing silently until England made that jab, upon which he turned and stalked through a door that led to the conference room, leaving the other nation behind.

"Hey, wait just a ti-" SLAM. The Asian knew he was going to get a karmic bite in the butt for that stunt, but in his mind it was totally worth it. He made his way across the overwhelmingly large room filled with countries to his designated seat, identified by a tag that had his name in professional curly text. Even though he and England were early, the meeting room was already blaring with the noise of countries fighting with each other. Out of the corner of his eye he saw England coming through the door and walk over to his seat, only to be promptly interrupted by America who somehow appeared in front of his face.

For the most part, the brown haired teenager was left alone, though he did get some strange looks. It was probably the fact that he could count the number of times he'd been outside of China-baba's house on one hand and not many countries knew about him previously. Once, though, he felt his sleeve being tugged on, and he turned to see his little "sister," Taiwan, looking at him curiously.

"Hong...?" She asked, tilting her adorable little head to one side. Hong Kong nodded and gave a small, nearly invisible smile. Taiwan's eyes widened and she grinned, then shouted, "Kaoru!" and hugging him tightly. He hugged her back and patted her head.

"Like, sorry, Mei, but you, like, have to sit with baba now..." he said gently. Taiwan sulked and gave a final squeeze, then left in search of her seat and the rest of her... _their _family.

"Bye, Kao-kun!" He gave a small wave and watched as she vanished into the crowd, following her with his eyes. Just before his little sister disappeared, Hong Kong caught a glance of violet. Violet eyes.

His own eyes widened in surprise and he quickly scanned the area again, but the haunting eyes seemed to have disappeared. No matter how many times he looked over that area, the mysterious purple eyes remained hidden. Then, finally, he gave up, resting his head in his hand grumpily. He didn't even try to pay attention to the meeting; everyone was talking without listening, and, frankly, he just wasn't in the mood to take notes.

_ So pointless... _he thought as he watched. A small sigh escaped him. _And so, like boring. _Yes, surprisingly, a bunch of older nations arguing about topics like politics andold grudges was boring to the child-turned-teenager. And Hong Kong was never one tolet himself stay bored...

~HKHK~

It was nearly impossible to take notes at these meetings, but Iceland tried. He really did. Behind the blah, blah, blah, there was at least a single gain of worthwhile information... at least, that's what he tried to tell himself.

He was always seated next to Norway, a small and emotionless young man who usually wore a cross-shaped pin in his hair. This was because Norway adamantly refused to let Iceland sit next to anyone else. Even though Iceland hated it, Norway was very protective of the white-haired boy. Iceland knew by country standards he was only as grown as a 15 year old human, but he could take care of himself!

"You don't have to take notes, Ice..." Said protective nation whispered to him for the fifth time that day.

"Nor-"

"Big brother."

"I'm not calling you that!" That was another thing. He kept trying to get Iceland to call him "big brother." It was annoying as hell, especially when Iceland was trying to act independent and mature.

Norway just stared at him and mouthed "big brother," an action that Iceland deemed unnecessarily creepy.

".. Geez, forget it, I'm going to the bathroom." Iceland said irritably, then got up and walked out the door.

He shut the wooden lacquered door harder than he meant to, but figured that it wouldn't be heard over the cacophony of the room. It was only when he turned around did he realize something vitally important: he had no idea where the bathroom even was. Iceland stood still for a moment, wondering what to do.

_ ... There is no way I'm going back in there... It would just go to Norway's head, _he thought. _I didn't really even need to use the bathroom, anyway... _Upon further reflection and against his better judgement, Iceland decided to skip the rest of the meeting in favor of sitting in the hallways, playing with the only available toy in his possession: a dinky set of marbles he received from Finland on the ride there.

~HKHK~

_ Okay... Almost done... _Hong Kong thought as he worked. He quickly cut some twine with his teeth and tied it around his masterpiece, then surveyed the end result.

_Like, epic win._

~HKHK~

The only sound echoing around the large hallways was the slight click-click-click of Iceland's marbles as he played. It was kind of strange, being by himself on the ornately decorated rug, shooting marbles like it was nothing out of the ordinary. However, the white-haired nation supposed it was better than being stuck inside that aggravating meeting and having to put up with Norway's smothering attention.

_ He's probably being harassed by that guy... Denmark, I think. Yeah, that's it. _Iceland mused, flicking the shooter marble expertly. He laughed inwardly when heremembered Norway's face in response to the overenthusiastic man. _I have never seen a more disgusted face... And ten seconds later he socked Denmark right in- _**BOOOM**!

Iceland's thoughts were interrupted as a massive explosion racked the hallway, sending his marbles scattering this way and that. The boy jumped in surprise, startled by the sudden noise. What startled him even more, however, was the thick black smoke that started pouring out of some doors at the far end of the hallway. His eyes widened in shock and fear. The raucous noise of the fire alarm filled his head.

_ Andskotinn! Did something blow up? Is there a fire?! ... I have to go warn the other countries! _He scrambled up from his position on the floor and made to run backinto the room when he saw a flash of movement in the smoke. His heartbeat quickenedwith dread and he felt a cold sweat sweep over his body. _Don't tell me... Is someone _in_ that?!_

For a moment he was paralyzed, mentally screaming at himself to go, to move and help, to do SOMETHING. He had scarcely taken two shaky breaths when a figure shot out of the black cloud. The Nordic country's mind didn't have any time to register the stranger's sudden arrival or safety as the man ran down the hallway, his figure blurred.

Time seemed to slow down as the man got closer and closer to Iceland, however, and the boy got a quick, clear glimpse of the other person. He was cloaked entirely in soot, dirtying his practical suit, and his brown hair seemed slightly disheveled. The stranger met eyes with Iceland as he ran, and, strangely, Iceland saw brown eyes widen in surprise and, interestingly, recognition. He mouthed something... well, he probably spoke, but Iceland was in too much shock to register his words.

Unfortunately, Iceland proved too much of a distraction for the older teen. He tread directly upon a clump of marbles that had scattered and his expression went from surprised to "oh... crap."

Iceland was still incapable of moving and could only watch as the brown haired figure ungracefully lost his footing and fell toward him.

Then they kissed. If what happened could even be called a kiss, the briefest, most unplanned touching of lips in the history of ever. Against all odds, like a scene in a shojo manga, the stranger's lips found Iceland's and they touched, if only for the briefest instances. Despite the quickness of the encounter, the warmth Iceland suddenly felt on his lips left a rosy blush creeping up his face.

And then the moment was gone, for gravity was still in effect, and the person continued his plummet, finally landing on top of the Nordic in a heap. Iceland was knocked over from force when the two collided and he found himself pinned to the ground by the weight on top of him. Though he was in a state of shock (aptly demonstrated by his red face), he knew immediately that the weight which should have pressed against him was much too light to belong to the stranger. _What...? _Indeed, it was much more akin to that of a ten or eleven year old.

After a few seconds, the white-haired teen slowly asked, "Um... are you okay?" Iceland lifted his head cautiously, causing him to stare directly into the stranger's big, emotionless brown eyes. The face that stared back at him was covered in soot, but round and innocent, not the angular face of the adolescent Iceland saw moments before. It was the personage of a child, not an 18 year old.

Needless to say, Iceland's sense of reality was pretty much shot.

**A/N: **Whoo! Finally updated! :D I must say, this chapter was very fun to write. And I realize... this is Icy's first appearance. Oh my gosh. A Panfin fic and Icy doesn't show up until the fourth chapter?! WHAT IS THIS? Haha. Anyway, here it is. Extra long (maybe?) as an apology for taking so long to update. Critiques are adored and flamed are ignored. Thank you!

Also that Icelandic word Icy says is basically an Icelandic swear word. Use your imagination! *shot*

And I am so sorry if the format is a little wonky on this one. :\


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